CA primary could pick 'birther' to face Feinstein

CAMPAIGN 2012

Published 4:00 am, Monday, June 4, 2012

Photo: Nick Ut, ASSOCIATED PRESS

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Attorney Orly Taitz speaks to the media outside the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Pasadena, Calif. Monday, May 2, 2011. A federal appeals court in California has heard arguments about a lawsuit challenging the U.S. citizenship of President Barack Obama, despite the release of his detailed birth certificate last week. Attorneys Taitz and Gary Kreep appeared Monday before a three-judge panel and argued that the lawsuit, which was dismissed two years ago, be remanded back to U.S. District Judge David Carter. (AP Photo/Nick Ut) less

Attorney Orly Taitz speaks to the media outside the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Pasadena, Calif. Monday, May 2, 2011. A federal appeals court in California has heard arguments about a lawsuit ... more

Photo: Nick Ut, ASSOCIATED PRESS

CA primary could pick 'birther' to face Feinstein

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Washington -- A novel California primary that premieres Tuesday was intended to produce moderates, but in California's U.S. Senate race, it could yield a challenger who claims President Obama was born in Kenya.

Incumbent Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein, 78, running for a fourth full term, faces 23 challengers, including 14 Republicans, the best known of whom is litigious Orange County "birther" Orly Taitz, a Russian Israeli emigre who has appeared on national television with her claims that Obama faked his birth certificate.

Polls taken by robocalls, including those commissioned by Taitz, show Feinstein with a wide lead, trailed by a strange assortment of single-digit rivals, in some cases led by Taitz.

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Whoever finishes second Tuesday, from any party, wins the chance to take on Feinstein in November.

A second-place finish by Taitz would be seen in both parties as a national embarrassment for the Republican Party, rivaling the candidacy of Christine "I am not a witch" O'Donnell, the 2010 GOP Senate nominee in Delaware.

Prominent Republicans declined this year to take on Feinstein, who is a well-funded, well-known institution in state politics. Nor did any wealthy self-funding candidate emerge after the failures of GOP challengers Carly Fiorina for U.S. Senate and Meg Whitman for governor two years ago.

'Right thing to do'

Taitz, 51, who holds degrees in law and dentistry, said in a telephone interview that it is Obama who should be embarrassed. But she said she is basing her Senate race on jobs, water desalination plants and education, not her claims about Obama's citizenship.

"We live in such a time of massive corruption that uncovering illegal actions and providing evidence to courts is somehow an embarrassment," Taitz said. "I see it as the right thing to do."

Al Ramirez, 43, a Santa Monica businessman who was endorsed by Assembly Republicans but lost the state party endorsement to Danville autism activist Elizabeth Emken, 49, said the race is coming down to him and Taitz among Republicans.

California's new top-two primary system was the brainchild of former state Sen. and Lt. Gov. Abel Maldonado, a Santa Barbara County Republican, and backed by former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, as a way to get rid of primaries dominated by partisans who elect partisan candidates.

The idea was to open the primaries to all voters, allowing moderate candidates to emerge. It was adopted by California voters with the approval of Proposition 14 in 2010. The system was aimed at district-level races for the state Legislature and U.S. House of Representatives, not the statewide U.S. Senate race.

"The law of unintended consequences has kicked in, and it's kind of a mess," said Bill Carrick, chief adviser to the Feinstein campaign.

Political analysts said Taitz's name recognition and a potential surge from her base in Orange County, a state GOP stronghold, could put her in second place.

Ramirez said the new system could produce three bad outcomes for the GOP: a Democrat could place second Tuesday, leaving no Republican on the November ballot for U.S. Senate; a third-party candidate could take second; or "the even worse scenario would be if Orly Taitz is in there because it would hurt the ticket nationally."

Easy role for Feinstein

Ramirez said such a result would mean "there's absolutely no conversation about the issues. Dianne does not have to entertain any type of questioning about her record. She doesn't have to provide any plan for the future, because all she has to say is, 'I'm saving you from this disaster.' "

Top GOP officials acknowledge that no one has a betting chance of beating Feinstein, who despite a dip in her popularity and the loss of millions of dollars to her former treasurer and confessed embezzler Kinde Durkee, has $3 million in the bank and expects to collect more than $7 million by November. The latest campaign finance reports show Emken a distant second with $327,686 in total receipts and less than half that in cash on hand.

Democratic competitors

Among Democratic candidates in the race are Colleen Fernald, a mother, consultant and artist from Santa Rosa; David Levitt, a computer scientist and engineer from Sebastopol; Nak Shah, an environmental health consultant from South San Francisco; Mike Strimling, a consumer rights attorney from Piedmont; and Diane Stewart, a businesswoman and finance manager from Discovery Bay.

"If they think the embarrassment over Donald Trump is bad, having the woman who brought all these lawsuits would be even worse," Carrick said.

Jon Fleischman, founder and publisher of FlashReport.org, a conservative website, and member of the California Republican Party's executive board, called Taitz a "whack job" but said Ramirez and Emken and another possible contender, Orange County Republican and business owner Dan Hughes, are all "normal."

A robocall survey May 9 by Pulse Opinion Research and commissioned by Taitz puts her in second place. Taitz said she feels great about her prospects, citing the more than 500,000 votes she won in her losing race for California secretary of state in 2010.

Mark Standriff, a GOP party operative and spokesman for Emken's campaign, said Emken is refusing to speak ill of any of her rivals, preferring to focus on Feinstein. Emken is touting her tough fiscal record as a cost-cutter at IBM and her soft side as the mother of an autistic son.

'Opportunity to sneak in'

Another candidate some pundits say may have a chance is Don Grundmann, a San Leandro chiropractor and herbalist who wants to eliminate the federal income tax and believes the Internal Revenue Service is corrupt.

Some analysts speculate that Grundmann could attract independent voters who notice his affiliation with the American Independent Party, not realizing that the party was founded in 1968 by segregationist George Wallace.

Grundmann said in a telephone interview that the American Independent affiliation could give him "an opportunity to sneak in, for lack of better word, to second place."

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